From vagrant to slave: the criminalization of vagrancy and the use of forced labor as punishment in colonial Mexico during the 17th and 18th centuries

Abstract

The phenomenon of vagrancy and mendicancy during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the outskirts of Mexico City constituted a social problem that had significant repercussions for the establishment and maintenance of the colonial order. This paper analyzes the emergence of the figure of the “vagrant” in New Spain, as well as the causes that led to the development and expansion of this phenomenon.  The research is based primarily on the analysis of specialized bibliographic and electronic sources, as well as on primary documentation from the Archivo General de la Nación (AGN), which allows for a broader and more comparative approach to the issue under study. The results of the research indicate that vagrancy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the areas surrounding Mexico City was not merely a problem of idleness, but also one rooted in the structure of colonial society, where social mobility and advancement for the most vulnerable groups were virtually nonexistent. Furthermore, forced labor was used as a form of punishment to maintain social control over poor and marginalized populations.